Glance To Roll Out AI Commerce Platform For Samsung Smartphones In US

InMobi-owned Glance has announced a partnership to roll out its AI commerce platform, Glance AI, for Samsung smartphone users in the US. 

In a statement, Glance said that the strategic partnership will offer Samsung users “exclusive” access to the platform’s AI shopping experiences and content discovery. The “opt-in” offering will be available both as an app and a lock screen for the South Korean tech giant’s smartphone users in the North American country. 

Glance AI is a native shopping platform that allows customers to visualise themselves in desired outfits and place their orders. Powered by Google Gemini and InMobi’s in-house image generation capabilities, the platform trains itself on a single image to generate hyper-real images of consumers in outfits. 

The company also said that recommendations and order fulfilment will be driven by Glance AI’s partnership with more than 400 brands in the US and globally. The partnership will also look to leverage Samsung’s wide presence in the smartphone market to scale up the offering. 

“… Samsung’s commitment to enable Glance AI across its devices in the US ensures consumers enjoy an experience where inspirational commerce and content converge,” said InMobi and Glance cofounder and CEO Naveen Tewari. 

Commenting on the partnership, senior director and head of Samsung Galaxy store USA Jason Shim added, “… Glance AI is a perfect example of the kind of high-quality and unique content we strive to deliver. By using AI to personalize content and shopping directly on the lock screen, it brings a smarter, more dynamic experience that reflects the forward-thinking spirit of the Galaxy Store”.

The development comes just weeks after Glance soft launched its Gen AI-powered app in the US, ahead of Google unveiling its ‘Try On’ feature in the country through Gemini. Built on Gemini API and trained on over 20 years of global commerce data, Tewari, in a chat with Inc42, touted the platform as the world’s first AI-native, inspiration-led commerce platform, developed in India for the global market.

Within a few weeks of its soft launch in the US, Glance AI claims to have attracted over 1.5 Mn active users, with a 50% retention rate and is currently present on roughly 4 Mn devices. 

Notably, Samsung is not the first original equipment manufacturer (OEM) that has tied up its Glance for the offering. The Google-backed startup also tied up with Motorola last year for pre-installing the app in some of its new models. Going forward, the company has set its eye on tying up with more smartphone makers and bolster its partnerships with at least 500 brands by the end of 2025. 

Founded in 2019 by Tewari, Abhay Singhal, Mohit Saxena, and Piyush Shah, Glance provides screensavers for mobile devices, which help users view certain content like news without unlocking displays or opening any apps. 

The startup joined the unicorn club in 2020 after it raised a mega $145 Mn round from Google and Mithril Capital. 

This partnership with Samsung also comes at a time when Glance’s parent InMobi is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO). In January, Inc42 reported that the SoftBank-backed adtech unicorn was looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a $1 Bn public listing at a valuation of $8 Bn to $10 Bn.